Feeling stuck? These two words can free you up
There are times when I feel like this clam: clamped shut, closed for business, knee-deep in a field of tidal muck that stretches to the horizon. That’s when I turn to my handy shortlist of self-excavation tools. It’s amazing how much even a change of... Read more
Three ways to be a quiet leader in a fearful world
I’ve been thoughtful lately about my responsibility as a citizen—a citizen who happens to be a sensitive person. Deep reflection is one of the attributes all sensitive people share. It manifests in a variety of ways: vivid dreams, a search for meaning in all... Read more
The HSP dilemma: all dressed up but feeling exposed
When I first laid eyes on this dress—one of forty haute couture ensembles from the 1960’s to the 2000’s, featured in the Ebony Fashion Fair exhibit—I laughed out loud at the sheer audacity of the design. Some of the looks were lavish, like the floor-length... Read more
The HSP paradox: you crave time alone, but you need company to soar
Flocks of Canada geese often pass honking over our neighborhood. They inspire me to think about effort and mutual support. Their V-shaped flight formation is a miracle of natural technology. Each goose takes a turn leading the formation. Each wingtip creates a vortex... Read more
How to connect to the heart of your creativity
Do you play an instrument or sing? Draw, paint, or sculpt? Write prose or poetry or drama? Make quilts, fashion furniture, take beautiful photographs? Cultivate a garden? Most sensitive people are creative or artistic. You are keenly attuned to beauty and subtlety.... Read more
Are you cloudy with a chance of overwhelm?
In the chaotic year after I left my marriage, I put my oboe on the shelf. After years of performing and teaching, it was a big change to work as a sort of Girl Friday for an arts organization. It wasn’t a bad change, but it was a big one, and my emotional state... Read more
It’s OK to be “too intense” and “too serious.” Seriously.
Being sensitive means you feel things deeply. Yet many sensitive people are reluctant to express strong emotions in front of others. We’ve learned it isn’t safe to expose ourselves this way, lest others respond by trying to fix us or by minimizing or... Read more
12 reasons sensitive people love Focusing
When I was a kid, my grandfather taught my sister and me how to paddle and steer our red canoe. He had just one condition: if we wanted to venture out of his sight, we had to capsize the canoe then figure out how to get it back to the dock. His big worry was drowning,... Read more
3 reasons chores are great for HSP’s, especially when you feel anxious
I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It’s amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor. —D. H. Lawrence Last June my partner and I made pin cherry jelly. We picked the sweet, glossy fruit from the... Read moreGet your FREE guide to sensitive anxiety
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